No. 2 And 11 Overall Picks In 2011 Draft Ink Entry-Level Deals

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that it has signed first-round draft choices Gabriel Landeskog and Duncan Siemens each to three-year, entry-level contracts.

“We are pleased to have both Gabriel and Duncan under contract,” said Avalanche General Manager/Executive Vice President Greg Sherman. “We look forward to them participating in their first training camp this fall.”

Landeskog, 18, was taken second overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and became the Avalanche’s highest draft pick since the team moved to Colorado in 1995. The previous high draft pick came in 2009, when the club selected Matt Duchene with the third overall choice. Landeskog was the first player selected second overall in Avalanche/Nordiques history. The Avalanche/ Nordiques franchise drafted first overall three times, 1989 (Mats Sundin), 1990 (Owen Nolan) and 1991 (Eric Lindros).

Landeskog, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, captained the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) this past season, becoming the first European captain in the 48-year history of the Rangers franchise. He was named captain at the age of 17 on Oct. 24, 2010, becoming the youngest player in 30 years to be named captain of the Kitchener Rangers.

Despite an ankle injury shortening his season to just 53 games, Landeskog led Kitchener with 36 goals and finished third with 66 points (36g/30a). He finished second on Kitchener in plus/minus with a +27 rating. In the first round of the 2011 playoffs, Gabriel shared the team lead with six goals and ranked second with 10 points in the seven-game series loss to Plymouth.

Landeskog served as an alternate captain for Sweden at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, but only played one game before being sidelined with a high ankle sprain. He competed for Sweden at the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, finishing second on the team with four goals in six games. Landeskog captained Sweden’s under-16, under-17, and under-18 teams.

Siemens, 17, was selected 11th overall in this year’s draft. The Edmonton, Alberta native appeared in all 72 games for the Saskatoon Blades (WHL) this past season, tallying 43 points (5g/38a) with a +40 plus/minus rating and 121 penalty minutes. Only Avalanche prospect Stefan Elliott (81) had more points among Blades defensemen. Siemens went on to collect four points (1g/3a) in 10 playoff games.

Siemens appeared in 57 regular season games for Saskatoon as a 16-year-old in 2009-10, recording 20 points (3g/17a) and 87 PIM. He also helped Canada to gold at the 2010 Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial with a goal and two assists in five games.